Electronic Arts’ Battlefield series and Activision’s Call of Duty franchise have always been rivals to the point that the games almost mirror each other now. Although BF and CoD have completely different mechanics and gameplay styles, BF has always been compared to Call of Duty as long as we can remember, with many dismissing it as a lesser alternative to Activision’s series.
With the new Battlefield game being announced, the head of their development company reveals that they are not keen on defeating Call of Duty and want to have an identity of their own. Let’s delve deeper into what it means.
Battlefield is going back to its core gameplay elements
Although Battlefield has always been compared to Call of Duty, the game made by Respawn Entertainment is a completely different experience from Activision’s best-sellers. BF features a lot of interesting gameplay elements like destructible environments while having a larger map, which rarely any first-person shooter game focuses on.
These unique elements set BF apart from any other FPS shooters and make the game a distinctive title on its own. Vince Zampella, the co-founder and head of Respawn Entertainment, told IGN in an interview about how they will be going back to their origins and making the upcoming game similar to its predecessors.
I mean, if you look back to the peak or the pinnacle of Battlefield, it’s that Battlefield 3… Battlefield 4 era where everything was modern. And I think we have to get back to the core of what Battlefield is and do that amazingly well, and then we’ll see where it goes from there.
In the same interview, when asked about whether their game will ever outsell Call of Duty, he answered that instead of focusing on their competition, they would rather make a distinctive personality of their own in the gaming market.
If you look at the best Battlefields have outsold some Call of Duties and other way around, back and forth. So I think absolutely it can, I mean, is that what we’re going for? I mean, not directly, but always. We’re not looking to take down Call of Duty. We’re making something that’s different and we’re making something that’s us. But yeah, it definitely has the possibility.
One of the major criticisms of Respawns’ recent BF titles has been the struggle with consistency in both their gameplay design and execution of it. Battlefield 2042, for instance, had suffered from a lack of direction when it was launched. The shift towards hero-based specialists felt out of sync with what we, as fans, loved about the franchise. Zampella and his team are keen to avoid such pitfalls, ensuring that Battlefield 6 delivers an experience that is both polished and true to the series’ roots.
EA is focusing on getting BF out of Call of Duty’s shadows
Battlefield 6‘s release date has finally been announced by EA, and the game is expected to release sometime between April of this year and March 2026. And for BF6 to actually succeed, it needs to get out of Call of Duty’s shadows. Zampella understands this and is hoping to implement a unique individuality of its own to BF6 by focusing on what they do best instead of trying out new stuff.
Now, it is just a matter of time to see whether the Battlefield franchise will rise to the legendary status that it once held or keep continuing to follow Call of Duty’s steps and lose the little bit of character that it has made throughout the years.
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